Saturday, February 18, 2012

GDB 5: Battle of Alberta

By Mike Wilson

Preview:
Tonight the Edmonton Rush will travel down highway 2 to cow-town to face the rivaled Roughnecks. If you can't see the game live, you can watch it on Sportsnet West in Canada, or livestream.com in the US.

Calgary's train of success has not stopped chugging since last season and this year it comes as a surprise to no one. They currently sit 2nd in the west division, tied with this years early success story, the Minnesota Swarm.

Both the 'Necks and the Rush started this season with tough schedules, both undefeated against the Stealth and both winless against the superpower Mammoth squad. The difference between the teams is that although all of their games so far have been close, Calgary, unlike Edmonton, has been able to come out on top.

The Rush season so far has been a tale of close but bot close enough. This isn't horseshoes or hand grenades, it's lacrosse. They're the best 1-3 team in the league right now, but at some-point good efforts need to turn into victories.

The Rush have been lead offensively by veteran Shawn Williams, followed by Ryan Ward and Corey Small. The Rush will be getting Scott Evans back from suspension this week, so he should help out the offense.

The goaltending match-up will star Mike Poulin and Stone Cold Aaron Bold. Bold currently leads the league in Save Percentage and in Goals Against, and the Rush defense is a big part of that equation as well.

Rabil:
The Rush traded away holdout Athan Iannucci this week for holdout Paul Rabil. Rabil will not be reporting to the Rush and therefore will not be participating in this game. Everyone is expecting a trade out east, the only question is when and for which player(s).